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AMPAS lays out red carpet for 115 potential members

Invitees include Aniston, Murphy

A total of 115 filmmakers and executives ranging from actress Jennifer Aniston to director Simon West have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"These individuals are all exceptionally accomplished in their respective fields," Academy president Sid Ganis said. "We're looking forward to having them join the Academy's ranks."

The membership policies that the Academy adopted four years ago in order to slow the growth of the organization would have allowed a maximum of nearly 150 new members this year, but like the previous three years, the branch committees endorsed far fewer candidates than were proposed. Voting membership in the organization has held steady at just below 6,000 members for four years.

"The numbers are stabilizing nicely, but at the same time some interesting changes are occurring," Academy executive director Bruce Davis said. "Like the recent lists of Oscar nominees, our last few membership invitation lists have been increasingly international."

Those invited include such 2007 Oscar nominees and winners as actors Adriana Barraza, Jackie Earle Haley, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy along with director Paul Greengrass and composer Gustavo Santaolalla.

New members will be welcomed into the Academy in September during an invitation-only reception at the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills.